natural dyeing plants in kurdistan, iraq

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Natural dyeing plants in Kurdistan, Iraq

Evan Mati

Arbetsgruppen för Tropisk Ekologi Minor Field Study 144Committee of Tropical Ecology ISSN 1653-5634

Uppsala University, Sweden

November 2009 Uppsala




Evan Mati



TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………….…….. 1

BACKGROUND……………………………………………………………………….…….. 2

History of natural dyes…………...…………………………………………………… 2

Nomadic tribes of Kurdistan………………………………………………………….. 2

The situation today………...………………………………………………………….. 3

The Kurdish Textile Museum………...………………………………………………. 3

MATERIALS & METHODS…...………………………………………………………….… 4

Study sites…………………………………………………………………………….. 4

Interviews…………………………….……………………………………………….. 4

Data analysis………...…………….……………………………………………….…. 6

RESULTS……………………………….……………………………………………………. 7

Pile sorting…….………………………………………………………………...……. 7

Ranking…..…………………………………………………………………………… 9

DISCUSSION………………………………………………………………………….……. 12

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………………..... 14

REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………. 15

APPENDIX A……………………………………………………………………………….. 18

APPENDIX B……………………………………………………………………………….. 25

APPENDIX C……………………………………………………………………………...... 26



1


Abstract

The use of natural dyes is an old tradition and has been carried out by weaving culturesaround the world. In Kurdistan nomadic tribes have been the center of the weaving craft, butall have now abandoned weaving and they are themselves facing cultural assimilation intomainstream Kurdish society. Natural dyes have once played an important role in the life ofnomads as they wild-crafted and traded natural dyes for their survival. They learned how tofind, harvest, process and dye with natural dyes from their family. The abandonment ofweaving and nomadic life, and recent changes in economy have all contributed to significantchanges in the natural dying culture and traditional knowledge of natural dyeing plants is not

so close to the weavers as it once was.The Kurdish textile museum in Erbil promotes and facilitates nomadic weaving knowledgetransmission by giving elderly nomadic weavers the chance to teach their skills to youngergenerations.

This study used picture cards for species recognition, pile sorting, ranking and to elicitinformation on dyeing and dyeing plants through in-depth interviews with nomads in themountains of Soran district and weaving teachers and students in Erbil in the KurdishAutonomous Region, Iraq. The aim of the study was to document the remaining knowledge of

natural dyeing plants and assess the transmission of knowledge between the older weaversand the younger generation of weaver´s apprentices. Anthropac 4.98 was used for ConsensusAnalysis, Multidimensional Scaling, Property Fitting and Quadratic Assignment Procedure.Consensus Analysis of pile sorting data supports the hypothesis that informants belong to asingle culture. Weaving teachers and students form a single culture, and position and agesignificantly explain the variation through property fitting of both position and age.

The natural dyeing culture is disappearing in Kurdistan and this study clearly confirms theimportance of knowledge transfer from the elderly, empirical, generation to the younger,learning, generation.



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Background

History of Natural dyes

Natural dyes have been known to mankind for a long time. Pigment fragments found inEgyptian tombs show use of natural dyes to be more than 5.000 years old and descriptions of

dye extraction procedures are also found in the hieroglyphs (Zollinger 2003). Throughouttime, weaving cultures around the world have used natural dyes to dye yarn (Opie 1992) andnature has for a long time been the only source of color. The art of weaving probably startedin Central Asia or by Mongolian nomadic cultures in 5 th century BC and spread by variousnomadic tribes throughout the orient (Allane 1995). Rug weaving has mainly been the workof women in nomadic tribes (Middleton 1996; Gunter 2004) and it became an integral part ofa woman‟s life that reflected her social situation (Hull & Luczyc-Wyhowska 1993). Dyerecipes were kept as guarded secrets (Hull & Luczyc-Wyhowska 1993; Allane 1995) and

passed down matrilineally together with the weaving techniques through the generations. The

discovery of synthetic dyes from coal tar in 1856 by William Henry Perkin gave way to arange of new synthetics that would spread throughout the world. They reached the orient inthe middle of the nineteenth century (Kybalová 1969; O´Bannon 1995). The ease of use,availability and bright colors of synthetic dyes (Nassiri, 1966) made it possible for them toalmost totally replace the natural dyes in the orient, by the beginning of the twentieth century(O´Bannon 1995).

Nomadic tribes of Kurdistan

The inaccessible mountain habitat of Kurdistan allowed little penetration of outside influences(Hull & Luczyc-Wyhowska 1993), which made it possible for the Kurdish nomads to retainthe use of natural dyes (Yassavoli 2000) longer than most oriental countries. It wasn‟t until

the 1950s, that synthetic dyes had almost completely replaced the natural dyes in Kurdistan(Opie 1992) though early rug literature indicate that the Kurds were the last to succumb(Eagleton, 1988). William Eagleton (1988) in his book on Kurdish rugs claims: “Among the

peoples producing tribal and village rugs in traditional ways, Kurds are the best”. The name“Kurd” was in the past referred to the nomadic (Yildiz 2007) or tribes-people (McDowall2007) living in the mountains of present Kurdistan. Nomadic culture has been a Kurdish wayof life for centuries (McDowall 2007) and nomadic tribes have helped form a great part of theKurdish population living today (Izady 1992). The majority of Kurds today live scatteredthroughout parts of Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria, and maintain a rich weaving tradition in allthese countries (O´Bannon 1995). Tragic events in the last decades, like the Iraq & Iran war(1980-88), the Anfal campaign (the infamous Kurdish genocide 1986-89) (McDowall 2007,Yildiz 2007, Gunter 2004), the destruction of around 4000 Kurdish villages (McDowall2007), the forceful relocation of nomadic and settled tribes as well as the closing of borderswhich impeded transhumance, have all contributed to the devastation of the weaving culture.



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The situation today

The fall of the Saddam regime in 2003 resulted in an economical and social change for theIraqi Kurds. Connections and communication with outside countries grew and an internationaltrade with the Kurds could start for the first time. Kurdistan is today a rapidly changingenvironment, moving towards modern marketing and technology (KRG 2009) and this in turnhas led to diminishing the tradition of Kurdish weaving. Over time the nomadic population inKurdistan has declined (Stanzer 1988) and they have gone from being fully nomadic to

becoming semi-nomads, that move between summer and winter pastures throughout the year. Now the nomadic population in Iraqi Kurdistan is facing extinction with only 750 nomadicand semi-nomadic families left (L. Sipan, pers. comm).

The Kurdish Textile Museum

An attempt to preserve the cultural weaving heritage of the Kurdish nomads was madethrough the establishment of a Kurdish Textile Museum (Glanz 2005, Recknagel 2005,Dworkin 2006, Butters 2007) in the ancient citadel of Erbil. Kurdish anthropologist LolanSipan, who has worked extensively on locating and supporting the last remaining nomadictribes in Kurdistan, founded the museum in 2004. The goal with the museum was to give oldtribal master weavers the chance to teach their skills to younger women and at the same timecreate textiles for commercialization (Presto 2008). The ”Women‟s Income Generation

Training Project” creates job opportunities for women, while reviving the traditional Kurdish

weaving culture.

This study aims to document the remaining traditional knowledge of the nomadic tribes ofIraqi Kurdistan on natural dyeing and dyeing plants; and assess the transmission of traditionaldyeing knowledge between the old master weavers and the younger generation of weaverapprentices.



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Materials and Methods

Study sites

Field-work was carried out in Erbil province, Iraqi Kurdistan, in October - December 2008.Part of the work was done at the Kurdish Textile Museum, in the citadel in the center of Erbil;

and another part with the Balaki tribe, in the three villages of Balekîyan, Macîdawe andBêlêngir in the district of Soran situated north-east of Erbil (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Map of study sites. Red = Kurdish autonomous region and country borders, Black =Erbil provincial boundary, Green = District divisions within Erbil Province, Blue = Water.

Interviews

Informant interviews were carried out individually in a separate room within the museum andin the home of each Balaki tribe member. The interviews were conducted by the author withhis mother, Ann Mati, as an assistant, and carried out in Sorani Kurdish. Sorani Kurdish can

be written in both Arabic script and Latin alphabet, but in order to facilitate proper

pronunciation of phonemes it uses additional marks on the letters (see textbox below thischapter ). Interviews consisted of a short social entry in which the background of the research



5

was explained and prior informed consent was obtained, before setting out data collection.Personal data of each informant was gathered at the end of each session. All interviews wererecorded using a digital video camera, JVC GR-D246E.

A key informant was identified using snow-balling among the weaving teachers at the

museum, with whom in-depth interviews were carried out to determine the cultural domain(Borgatti, 1993) of dyeing plants, what species are included in this domain, and what speciesto use in this study.

Based on these data 12 picture cards were created of dyeing plants and one of potassium-alum, a naturally occurring mineral. Each picture card consisted of photographs ofdifferent parts of the plants, displaying the characters needed to identify the plant. In additionsamples of each plant were purchased in the nearby Qaysari market in Erbil and weredisplayed together with each picture card. The samples were later stored at the UppsalaUniversity Herbarium (UPS) as botanical references for identification.

A species recognition task with the picture cards was done with each informant, wherethe informant was asked to identify plants they knew. Identified plants were then used in twoquantitative exercises adopted from anthropology: pile sorting and ranking (see Martin,2004). In pile sorting the informant is asked to sort all plants into groups based on a sortingcriterion, selected by the informant (unconstrained pile sort). In species ranking the informantis asked to rank items on the basis of their importance to them. The arrangement of the pilesand rankings was noted and also the sorting and ranking criteria of the informants.

The tasks were followed by open-ended semi-structured interviews of each plant

(Martin 2004). Respondents were asked the same sets of questions, but both the order of the plant species and questions were discussed at the informant‟s preference.

The semi-structured interviews consisted of questions on local name(s), uses, used plant parts, use instructions, where it grows, how to collect it, best collection time, who theyhave learned from, as well as the commercial value of the species. In addition to study thelocal perception of ecology and sustainability, questions were asked regarding: speciesdistribution, dominant vegetation, what species grow in the vicinity, soil type, amount of sunneeded and if the local community had a way to maintain a sustainable use of the plant.

Informants were also asked if they knew other plants in addition to the picture cards that wereused as dyes or in dyeing. Interviews were concluded with a short structured interview tocollect social data for each respondent.



6

A, a as in AdamC, c as in JoinÇ, ç as in ChildE, e as in a (short pronunciation)Ê, ê as in Endi as in not pronuncedÎ, î as in IranJ, j as in Je t´aime´(French for I love you)Q, q as in QoranŞ, ş as in SheU, u, as in YouÛ, û as in GoodX, x as in Júan (Spanish name)

Data Analysis

Analysis of the pile-sorting and ranking data was done using Anthropac 4.98 (Borgatti,1996a). Consensus analysis (Romney et al., 1986) was used to test the underlying one culturehypothesis, and data were plotted using non-metric multidimensional scaling (Kruskal &Wish, 1976, Puri & Vogl, 2005). Data were further analyzed using property fitting (PROFIT)analysis and quadratic assignment procedure (QAP) regression (Hubert & Schultz, 1976; Puri& Vogl, 2005). Dependent variables were the agreement matrices from the consensus analysisfor the pile-sorting of dyeing plants in groups, and the ranking of dyeing plants byimportance.

The attribute matrix consisted of social data on: species recognized; knowledge (fromthe consensus analysis); age; gender; knowledge source (learned from: 1 = mother, 2 =grandmother, 3 = stepmother, 4 = aunt, 5 = mother & father, 6 = mother & stepmother & aunt,7 = grandmother & mother & mother in law, 8 = here and there, 9 = mother & grandmother,10 = teacher(s), 11= felt makers); educational background (number of years of education);informant type (1 = villager, 2 = teacher, 3 = student); occupation (1 = house wife, 2 =teacher, 3 = Shepherd, 4 = student, 5 = felt-maker); language ability (1 = Kurdish, 2 =Kurdish & Arabic, 3 = Kurdish & Arabic & Turkmen); marriage status (1 = patrilocalresidence, 2 = matrilocal residence, 3 = neolocal residence, 4 = not married); family (1 =nuclear, 2 = extended); residence size (number of people in residence); tribe (1 = Balaki, 2 =Kheilani, 3 = Gerdi, 4 = Sian, 5 = Khoshnaw, 6 = Balak, 7 = Shekhan & Khoshnaw); nomador not (1 = nomad, 2 = not nomad); still nomad (1 = still nomad, 2 = not anymore); abandonednomadic lifestyle (number of years); pile sort criteria (1 = dye, 2 = food, 3 = medicine, 4 =consistency, 5 = matching colors placed beside each other in a felt); ranking criteria (1 = dye,2 = food, 3 = medicine, 4 = number of uses).

Quadratic attribute variables were normalized and regressed using PROFIT analysis.Categorical attribute variables were independently converted to matrices by scoring for

matches in a single variable similarity matrix (Puri and Vogl, 2005) and regressed using QAPregression.



7

Results

Pile sorting

Consensus analysis in Anthropac applied to the pilesorting exercise data of the dyeing speciesfrom the species recognition task shows strong for the hypothesis that our informants belong

to one culture, with a 1-to-2 eigenvalue ratio of 11.977 (pseudo-reliability = 0.970). Howeverexplaining the variation by either property fitting or the quadratic assignment procedure ofinformant attributes, such as: gender, age, status, knowledge source, educational background,informant type, occupation, language ability, marriage status, family, residence size, tribe,nomadic lifestyle, or the reported pile sorting and ranking criteria was difficult with eitherlittle variation explained (low R-squared) or little probability (low p-value). Learned from,occupation and reported pile sorting criterion were both significant, but explained little of thevariation. Focusing specifically on the Erbil data on master weavers and their pupils we findstrong support for a single culture (pseudo-p = 0.940, eigenvalue ratio = 8.974. Non-metric

multidimensional scaling in two dimensions has a moderately high Kruskal stress of 0.175.Property fitting of normalized quantitative attributes shows that both position (teacher orstudent) (R 2 = 0.653, p = 0.010) and age (R 2 = 0.611, p = 0.018) explain the variation in the

pile-sorting with strong support (see Figure 2). This confirms the importance of knowledgetransfer from the elderly, more experienced, generation to the younger, learning, generation.In addition using QAP regression on categorical independent variables shows correlation ofthe variation with occupation (R 2 = 0.085, p = 0.014), but it explains little of the variation.

Table 1. Consensus Analysis of pilesortingdata of recognized species using Anthropac

Consensus analysis results for all informants

Pseudo-Reliability = 0.970

EIGENVALUES

FACTOR VALUE PERCENT CUM % RATIO1: 12.441 87.5 87.5 11.9772: 1.039 7.3 94.8 1.396

3: 0.744 5.2 100.014.224 100.0

Consensus analysis results for Erbil informants

Pseudo-Reliability = 0.970EIGENVALUES

FACTOR VALUE PERCENT CUM % RATIO

1: 6.926 82.2 82.2 8.9742: 0.772 9.2 91.4 1.0593: 0.729 8.6 100.0

8.426 100.0



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Table 2. Property Fitting (PROFIT) andQuadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP)regression analysis on Pile Sorting data ofinformant attributes

Variable R-Squared ProbabilityRecognized 0,469 0,061Knowledge 0,058 0,756Age 0,611 0,018Gender 0,288 0,247Learned From 0,352 0,151Education 0,471 0,063Teacher-Student 0,653 0,010Family 0,073 0,703Residence 0,458 0,060Occupation 0,085 0,008Language 0,008 0,664Marriage 0,010 0,616Tribe 0,050 0,224Pilesorting Criterion 0,005 0,590Ranking Criterion 0,002 0,706



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Ranking

Consensus analysis in Anthropac applied to the ranking of the dyeing species by allinformants combined shows that our informants are not likely to form a single culture, with a1-2 eigenvalue ratio of 1.157 (pseudo-reliability 0.107), and the „one-culture‟ hypothesis is

indefensible. Non-metric multidimensional scaling on the consensus analysis has a Kruskalstress in 2 dimensions of 0.183. Property fitting of the metric independent variables showsthat the number of people in residence can largely explain the observed variation (R 2 0.552, p0.001).

Looking specifically at the weavers in Erbil does not allow for consensus analysis dueto insufficient variation in the agreement matrix. Non-metric multidimensional scaling on

positive matches between the rankings has a Kruskal stress in 2 dimensions of 0.148. Propertyfitting of the metric independent variables shows that the number of recognized species canlargely explain the observed variation (R 2 0.560, p 0.030). In conclusion the ranking wouldneed to be extended to include more informants to have better support and test the modelsunderlying hypotheses.

Figure 2. Pile sorting of dyeing plant species by weaving teachers and apprenticesin Erbil plotted using Non-metric Multi-dimensional Scaling (MDS). Students aremarked by squares and teachers by triangles; The clusters of students and teachersare encircled. The vectors are based on property fitting of attributes using multipleregressions (PROFIT) arrowheads point in the direction of increasing attributevalues.



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Table 3. Informant attributes used in Pile Sorting and Ranking analysis

Informant No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Age (years) 67 67 50 50 65 48 70 45 50 50 58 22 18 28 19 28 70 70 55 57

Gender 1 = F, 2 = M 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1

Place of residence 1 =Balekîyan, 2 = Majîdawa,3 = Bêlêngir, 4 = Erbil

4 4 2 3 3 2 3 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

Learned from 1 = Mo, 2 =Grm, 3 = Stm, 4 = Au, 5 =Mo & Fa, 6 = Mo & Stm &Au, 7 = Grm & Mo & Mil,8 = here & there, 9 = Mo &Grm, 10 = Teacher (s), 11= Felt maker

6 1 3 7 1 5 5 1 1 8 9 10 10 10 10 10 11 1 1 1

Educational Background No of school years

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 5 9 7 5 5 0 0 0

Type 1 = Villager, 2 =Teacher, 3 = Student 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2

Occupation 1 = Housewife, 2 = Teacher, 3 =Sheppard, 4 = Student, 5 =Felt maker

2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 2 2 2

Language ability 1 =Kurdish, 2 = Ku & Ar, 3 =Ku & Ar & Tu

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 1 1 1

Ethnicity 1 = Kurdish 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Religion 1 = Islam 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Marriage status 1 = Patri,

2 = Matri, 3 = Neo, 4 = Notmarried 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 3 1 3 3 3 3 3Family 1 = Nuclear, 2 =Extended

2 2 2 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 1

No of people in residence 11 7 22 3 6 11 5 7 8 20 5 7 4 7 8 9 4 10 3 8

Tribe 1 = Balekî, 2 =Xeîlanî, 3 = Gerdî, 4 =Sîan, 5 = Xoşnaw, 6 =

Balek, 7 = Şexan &

Xoşnaw

2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 4 5 2 6 2 7 2

Nomad or not 1 = Nomad,2 = Not nomad

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1

Still Nomad 1 = Stillnomad, 2 = Not 2 2 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 - - - - - 2 2 2 2

Banned nomadic lifestyle

number of years40 26 0 9 0 0 4 0 0 0 34 - - - - - 30 40 33 42

Pile sort criteria 1 = Dye,2 = Food, 3 = Medicin, 4 =Consistency, 5 = Matchingcolors placed beside eachother in a felt

2 2 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 4 2 4 3 3 5 1 2 1

Ranking criteria 1 = Dye,2 = Food, 3 = Medicin, 4 =

Number of uses 1 3 2 1 1 2 2 1 3 4 1 2 3 2 3 2 1 1 4 1



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Discussion

Analysis of the pile sorting data for all informants showed strong support for the oneculture hypothesis. The independent variables occupation, learning source and sortingcriterion of informants were significant, but explained little of the sorting variation. The

criteria informants use when sorting piles are likely to be related to their perception of theworld around them, and occupation clearly has an influence on the way people perceivesimilarities in dyeing plants, e.g. weaving teachers are likely to sort according to matchingcolors, whereas students may sort by shape or secondary medicinal properties. Whenanalyzing the Erbil informants alone we also find strong support for one culture. The culturaldifferences between teachers and students in the way the two groups carried out the pilesorting exercise can be observed in the MDS plot, and the variation can be explained by both

position and age. The teachers belong to an older generation that have lived a substantial partof their lives as nomads roaming the harsh mountainous terrain of Kurdistan and were taught

dyeing as children by older generations of nomads. The students on the other hand, have livedall their life in the city and are far from the old nomadic ways of life, and are learningweaving and dyeing as a craft as young adults.

The analysis of species ranking exercise indicated that it was unlikely that the,informants belonged to a single culture. In the interpretation of this result it is important toconsider the differences in life style between the villagers, which still live semi-nomadic livesand the Erbil informants that live in a city, as it played an important role in their perception ofthe ranking exercise. The goal of the ranking exercise was not intuitive to the villagers. Thevillagers became confused when they were asked to rank the plants after they had sorted the

plants, and sometimes ranked plants in the order they had sorted them earlier. In other cases,villagers have placed important dyeing plants last in their ranking list because they haveexhaustedly worked with them throughout their life and have gotten tired of seeing them.When consensus analysis was applied to the ranking data and informants estimatedknowledge was compared to the consensus model, villagers that had used natural dyesextensively and were more knowledgeable of the dyes were given low scores, while higherscores were given for students with no knowledge of dyes whatsoever. This can either beexplained by loss of cultural knowledge or that the villagers didn‟t understand the rankingexercise as well as the students due to differences in life style and culture. In some cases the

younger generation did not identify the plants in the picture cards as natural dyes. Teachers onthe other hand identify dyeing plants including plants that were known by students. Thisexplains the insufficient variation in the agreement matrix that didn‟t allow for cultural

consensus analysis and the number of recognized species could explain the variation.

To the livelihoods of the nomadic tribes in Kurdistan natural dyeing plants have played an important role as these plants have been essential components in nomadic weavingculture, which has long been a major source of income. Natural dyes, which were not alwaysavailable, forced nomads that did not collect the plants themselves, to trade it for whateverthey could reap from their land: dairy products, meat, wool, and cultivated cereals and fruit.

For centuries nomads have been dependent on the wild-crafting and barter-trade of these plants for their survival. The invention and spread of synthetic dyes provided an inexpensive



13

alternative, due to its low cost and easy processing. Even though synthetic dyes have beenavailable for over a century these have not always been obtainable by nomadic weaversduring the last century, and elderly weavers have learned to find, harvest, process and dyewith natural dyes from their parents. Nomadic master weavers that have used natural dyesextensively in previous years have lost this knowledge, as it has fallen into disuse with theabandonment of weaving and their nomadic livelihood. This study clearly shows that a naturaldyeing culture still exists and it also confirms the importance of knowledge transfer betweenthe elderly, empirical, generation to the younger, learning, generation. Over time naturaldyeing culture has undergone significant changes and traditional knowledge is not so close toweavers as it once was. Recent changes in the economy of the Kurdish people have had agreat impact on the cultural change. A shift of focus in the younger generations to medicinaluses of plants was observed, as herbal medicine is becoming more important in the Kurdishsociety.



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Acknowledgements

I would like express my sincere gratitude to: My mother, Ann Mati, for having been with methroughout the fieldwork as an interpreter, guide and assistant; My father, Dylan Dersim, forhelping me with Kurdish linguistics and for creating the maps for the report; My uncle Sami

for providing good sources and references; Lolan Sipan, Director of the Kurdish TextileMuseum, for giving me the opportunity to work with him in Kurdistan, and providingreference literature on weaving and personally collected data on the nomads of Kurdistan; TheKurdish Regional Government, Ala Riani, responsible for communication and Awni Ali, headof media relations; The three brothers, Farid, Maruf and Fazil Abdulla running Avesta

bookshop on Dollarstreet in Erbil for the time and effort given in providing material andreferences; The Hussain Agha family, leaders of the Balakî tribe, for help with identifyinginformants; Ashna Omar at the Ministry of Tourism in Erbil, for helping in many ways and

providing information; Derya Celil, at the College of Science, Salahaddin University, for

providing the Flora of Iraq; Swedish International Development Coo peration Agency‟s (Sida)Minor Field Study programme for awarding the grant to carry out this research projectthrough the Committee of Tropical Ecology at Uppsala University; Hugo de Boer, at theDepartment of Systematic Botany, Uppsala University, for believing in me and my ideas. Hehas been an excellent supervisor that has supported and helped me and he has always beenthere when needed.



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Stanzer, W. 1988. Kordi. lives, rugs, flatweaves of the Kurds in Khorasan. Kollektion Adil

Besim Ohg im Eigenverlag, Wien.

Townsend, C. C. & Guest, E. 1980. Flora of Iraq. Vol 4, part 1&2. Cornaceae to Rededaceae.

botany directorate, ministry of agriculture & agrarian reform. Bentham-Moxon Trust,Baghdad.

Townsend, C. C. & Guest, E. 1974. Flora of Iraq. Vol 3. Leguminales. botany directorate,ministry of agriculture & agrarian reform. Bentham-Moxon Trust, Baghdad.

http://www.kurdishtextilemuseum.com/

http://www.kurdishtextilemuseum.com/



17

Yassavoli, J. 2000. Persian rugs and carpets. 3:rd edition. English-Persian. Yassavoli publications, Tehran.

Yildiz, K. 2007. The Kurds of Iraq. The past, present and future. Revised edition. Pluto pressin association with Kurdish human rights project, London.

Zollinger, H. 2003. Color chemistry. Syntheses, properties, and applications of organic dyesand pigments. 3rd revised edition. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim.



18

Appendix A

Table 4. Compiled data on plants from all informantsa in depth interviews.

Scientific name Quercus aegilops L.

Kurdish name Beru

Uses b 1. Bag construction1,2,3,4,5,6,10,11,18,19,202.

Dye1,4,17,203. FoodALL 4. Firewood2,8,10

5. Fodder 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 6. Medicin3,15 7. Shelter & Bed for Sheppard10

Part used 1; Acorn cups. 2; Acorn cups 3; Acorn 4; Wood (and acorns ) 5; Acorn 6;Acorn

7; Branches

How to collect When fallen; pick from ground , , , , , , , / Climb and pic or throw rocks attree3 / Use long stick to fetch branch, pick acorn cup4,18 4; Cut down tree or branches

Where it growsc Hills and Mountains1,2,3,4,5,6,10,17,20 / Sefîn, Sîdekan, Şeqlawe2 / Bradost, Barzan,

Zrauk, Bêlêngir, Hendrên, Hesen Beg 10 Use instructions b,f 1; Separate goat, kow skin from animal using knife, soak skin in water over

night, clean skin by scraping inside with knife until whitened, acorn cup dried,grinded, boiled (apply on skin, twist skin, leave 1 day20)(fill skin with thewater, leave 8-9 days11), add skin, cool over night, goatskin becomes hard andthick (for making shoes10) (fill with sand so that it takes shape4), dry inshadow, tie leg and arm holes with rope, wash repetedly with water, Hembane;storage bag, is filled with rice, cheese, wheat, any items for storage, bag alsoused as cream separator (for making butter); Meşke, bag also used to storewater; Kunde.1,2,3,4,5,6,10,11,18,19,20 2; Dry, grind, boil, let cool, add yarn, leaveover night, dry yarn; gives mortant/brown1,4,20 3; Grill in fire, remove testa and

eat1,2,3,4,6,11

/ Grind; use as flour for bread6

/ Remove testa, boil then eat3

4; Reju; charcoal2,10 / fuel when no gasoline8 5; Livestock, mainly sheep2,3,4,5,6,8,9 6; Stomach ache3 / Diarrhoea15 7; Rest under tree when sun or cut off leafy branches, construct shelter to sleep on, it also protects from sun10

Best collection time Autumn2,4,6,10,11, (dye & bag; before rain, Food; after rain, if not; bitter 1)

Price ,e Sold to towns. 15.000 ID/60Kg (human), 100 ID/60Kg (sheep).

Learned fromg Mo4,11,20, Mil, Au.1,4 Grm.4,20 Father.6



19

Scientific name Punica granatum L.

Kurdish name Henar

Uses b 1. Dye1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10,11,18,202. Medicin1,3,4,10,11,12,13,15,16

3. FoodALL4. Bag

construction3,4,10,19/Shoes10 5. Hair treatment4,11,13,14

Part used b 1; Fruit peel / Leaves5 2. Fruit peel,white part /Syrup15,16 3; Fruits 4; Fruit peel

5; Fruit peel

How to collect b Pick or cut off friut with knife1,2,3,4

Where it growsc Cultivated3,4,6,11,17,18 & Wild.1,5 Mountains2

Use instructions b,f 1; Peel off by hand, NDP1,3,5,6,8,9,11,18,20 ; yellow / With J. regia18 / With

synthetics.

2

2; Scrape off, eat; stomache ache

1,3,11,12,13

/ Stitch

4

/Apply on mouthulcers15,16/ See Q. infectoria16/Rub on hands; dry and cracked skin.15 3; Eatfresh or make Rubahenar or Birman (Syrup) or Sirka(vinegar)1,2,3,4,5,6,8,11 4;Dry, boil with Q. aegilops (see Q. aegilops) ; gives streanth to the leather 3,4,10,19 5; Dry, grind,mix into henna, dye hair 11,13,14/dry, boil, mix water into henna4

Best collection time Autumn , , , , , , , , , (before rain )

Priced,e (1.000-2.000 ID/Kg8 ), (25.000 ID/Box3), (1 DIR/Kg6), (1 ID/3-4Kg 11)

Learned fromg Mo , (and Grmo ) / Neighbours, older women / Mil, Au

Scientific name Rhus coriaria L.

Kurdish name Sumaq

Uses 1. Dye , , , , , , , , , , 2. Food 3. Hair treatment 4. Medicin , , , , , , , 5. Fodder 10 6. Bag production19

Part used b Testa

How to collect Cut off fruit collection with knife , , , , , / Hold steam below friut collection, pull all seeds uppwards.3,4,8,18,20

Where it growsc Cultivated , , , , (and wild , , in mountains , , , and plains / Xoşnaw,

Riwandiz 19

Use instructions , 1; Dry, smash on plate; seeds fall off, use Destar (grinder) , / Put seeds inwater,run through with hand /seeds separate from testa.8 NDP3,4,8,18,20 ; red. Boil

with alum (size of a walnut) then use R. tinctoria1,2,11

/ with alum then usesyntetics6,8 / with alum then use R. luteola

5 2; Separate testa from seed asabove and eat1,2,4,5,20 4; Dry, apply on skinburns9 / Put in mouth of animal;mouth ulcers10 / Humans15/ Boil, drink; Stomach ache12,18 /and diarrhoea13,14 /with garlic15,16/ Lowers the blood pressure15 5; Livestock eats it10 6; Dry, boilwith Q. aegilops (see Q. aegilops); gives streanth to leather 19

Best collection time Autumn (before rain , ), after fruit collection turns red , , , , , , , / After starGalawej appears (midsummer)4

Priced,e (3.000 ID/Kg6), (5.000 ID/Kg8), (6000-8000 ID, also traded with salt, yogurt,walnut1)

Learned fromg Mo8,18,20 / Mil, Au1 / Parents6 / Old women10,19 / Grm20



20

Scientific name Vitis vinifera L.

Kurdish name Trê

Uses 1. Food 2. Medicin , , , , ,

Part used b Fruit / food; and leaves1,2,4,5,6,8,14

How to collect Cut down fruit collection and pick leaves by hand ,

Where it growsc Cultivated1,4,8,11,17

Use instructions b,f 1; Leaves; Dolma(kurdish dish)1,2,3,4,5,14 / Fruit eaten raw or sun dried; Mewij(raisens), Doşaw (syrup)1,2,3,4,6,10,11,12,18,19 (friut boiled, water put in Cork (cloth) then in Kol (basket) then stamped on, boil water until it thickens;

syrup1

) 2; Lowers blood presure6

/ Anemia12,13,15,16,19

Best collection time Autumn , , (before rain ), (when the fruits turn red )

Price ,e 1.000-1.500 ID/Kg, traded with salt and wheet.

Learned fromg Mo, Grm20 / Since childhood1

Scientific name Juglans regia L.

Kurdish name Cuz

Uses 1. Dye , , , , , , , , , , 2. Food 3. Carpentry , 4. Hair treatment , , , , , , 5.

Medicin3,4,5,6,9,10,13,14,15,16,19 6. Cosmetics10

Part used 1; Fruit peel 2; Nut 3; Wood 4; Fruit peel 5; Nut / Fruit peel , , 6; Fruit peelHow to collect b Climb tree, hit fruit with long stick, collect from ground2,4,5,11,9

/ Climb, uselong stick with hook to grab branch and shake.18 3; Cut down tree or branches1

Where it growsc Cultivated , , , , , , , ; in Bestore, Mesîf (Selahedîn). Wild , , ; Xoşnaw, Balekîyan1 / Gelî Alî Beg 6 / Mountains along water stream2,5,6,17,18 / Nuts spreadwith squerrels4

Use instructions b,f 1; Peel off (dry4,9,11), NDP1,3,4,5,6,9,11,18,20; mordant and direct color, black / with P.granatum

18/ with synthetics2 / leave 1-2 h6 / leave few days42; Peel off, dry,

brake, eat1,2,3,4,5,6 3; Remove leaves and branches, cut wood into desired shape,you can make Darî Qend; to brake big sugar blocks on, place block in center,crush with axe, sugar falls down into cavity1,2 4; Dry, boil, mix little of thewater into henna2,3,4/ with P.granatum4/ Dry, grind, mix into henna6,11,12,14 5;Eat; lowers blood fat & blood pressure4,5,14/stomach ache3/anemia, also see Q.infectoria16/ gives streanth & energy 13,15,16 / gives strong bones19 / fresh onskinburn6 / redness of skin & eczema10 / Dry, grind, mix with little water,apply on head; Head ache9 6; Rub fresh fruit peel on lips; lipstick

Best collection time Autunm2,3,5,10,18,19,20/ when walnuts are unripe; Dye1 / when fruit peel hascracked; food1,4,11

Price ,e 1.000 walnuts for 1 ID (1970), traded with yogurt, salt, sumaq, cheese,apricote1,11 / 3.000/Kg, 200-300.000/60Kg3

Learned fromg Mo / and nieghbours, older women / Mil, Au and from childhood



21

Scientific name Rubia tinctorum L.

Kurdish name Runas

Uses 1. Dye , , , , , , , , , , 2. Medicin , ,

Part used Root

How to collect b Pull out plant from ground, cut off roots4,5 /use showel8

Where it growsc Bought , , from Iran , / dealers returning from Iran . / Şino, Nexede, Mehabad

1/ Cultivated in; Xoşnaw1, Bestore, Mesîf (Selahedîn), Graw1,18 /Wild in; mountains5,8,18 / meadows4 / vineyards,18 Gelî Alî Beg, Hornî Balekîyan3 / Sure Zewî 5 / Korê18

Use instructions , 1; Grind with Conî (mortar), use Hêlîng (fine sieve) to strain powder , NDP , , / leave a few days4 / boil with alum20 / boil with R.coriaria and alum11 / boilwith R.coriaria, alum and syntetics.2 Soak yarn in hot water, take out, applymadder powder on yarn, put yarn in hot water, leave over night, dry yarn8/ firsttreat with R. coriaria and alum together 6 / first treat with P. granatum andalum together 1 2; Grind, mix with egg yolk, apply on wound, sore, bonefracture, swollen area, leave a few days1,18/ grind, add little water,apply onforehead; head ache or eye pain6

Best collection time Spring5,18 / autumn4,8, before rain3

Price ,e 15 DIR or 1 ID (1975). Bought from other nomads or traded with cheese

Learned fromg Mo , , , , / Grmo / Mil, Au / Old women / Mothers cousin / Neighbours

Scientific name Indigofera tinctoria L.

Kurdish name Xim

Uses b Dye1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9,11,12,17,18,19,20

Where it growsc Yarn sent to Ximxanşi (indigo dye workshops) in towns, they dyed it and sentit back to us1,5,6,11,19,20 / leave yarn, pick up in evening4/ or bought dye fromthem8,9 in Herîr, Batas1, Diyane,8 Xane3. Ximşi (black dyers) were jews, andhad 4-6 shops in Erbil (1960).1,17,18 After leaving, none left to dye withIndigo,19,20 instead people dyed with synthetics or P. granatum or J. regia.18

Use instructions b,f

Boil, add yarn or clothes, leave 15-1h depending on shade, dry,wash; Dyeingcolorful clothes black,when family member dies 9,12,18 / boil with P. granatum and salt8 / boil with alum.17 Insted of I. tinctoria;Qure Reş (black mud) fromriver or mountain side, mix with cold water, add yarn, leave over night, dry;direct dye, black 2,5/ boil5 / first treat with R. luteola and R. tinctoria, leave 3-4weeks4 / Qure Şîn(blue mud) found under water close to Balakian, used asabove3

Learned fromg Mo , , / Mil, Au / Grmo



22

Scientific name Beta vulgaris L.

Kurdish name Silqesor

Uses b 1. FoodALL2. Dye11

3. Medicin16

Part used Roots / and leafs , , , , , , ,

How to collect Pull plant up from ground , ,

Where it growsc Cultivated1,3,4,11

Use instructions , 1. Turşî (pickles); , , , , slice, boil,put in jar, add vineger, salt,vegetables,store 1 week.1

Dolme14, Kifte

1,4,6,172; Slice root, use fresh, NDP;11 red 3;

Boil,drink; kidney pain, gives energy16

Best collection time Late summer or autumn

1

Price ,e 500 or 750 ID/Kg

Learned fromg Mo,Grm / Since childhood

Scientific name Quercus infectoria Oliv.

Kurdish name Mazî

Uses 1. Medicin , , , , , , , , , , , , 2. Fodder , , , 3. Firewood , 4. Dye , , , 5. Shelter & Bed for Sheppard10 6. Bag construction1,20

Part used 1; Galls 2; Acorns 3; Wood 4; Galls 5; Branches 6; Galls

How to collect b Climb and pic from tree1,3,4,8,11,18 / use long stick to fetch branch4or hit tree

with52; Pick from ground.

4

Where it growsc Hills and Mountains1,2,3,9,10,11,17,18 / slopes6 / Bradost

3,8 / Hesen Beg 11

Use instructions , 1; Dry, grind, sieve with fine cloth, apply on wound, cover , , , / psoriasis,skinburn6,10,17 , mouth ulcers3 / with alum on mouth ulcers15,19/ with P. granatum, J. regia, 1:1, on mouth ulcers16 / with egg yolk, on wounds, swollenarea, broken body part, leave 2 weeks18/eat; stomach pain1 2; Livestock 2,3,4 4; NDP20; beige / dye textiles used for traditional kurdish men clothing4,10,18 5;See Q. aegilops

10 6; Use with Q. aegilops20 (see Q. aegilops/ Mazîsk (big red

gall, with pointy outgrowths), Gurîng (big yellow-red gall, no pointyoutgrowths), both can be used with Q. aegilops1 (see Q. aegilops)

Best collection time Autumn

, ,

, before rain

, ,

/ before star Galawej appears (midsummer), ifnot; whiter; bad medicin1 / Dark galls; better medicin.1,3,4,6,8

Price ,e Sold to cities , , , , , (1 ID/Kg , , ), (3-5ID/Kg , (1980)) (1-3 ID/60Kg , ),(1000 ID/Kg, yellow galls3)

Learned fromg Mo1,9,20 / Grmo18,20/, Mil, Au1/ old women, Mothers cousin3 / Parents4,6,11,18



23

Scientific name Reseda luteola L.

Kurdish name Sender

Uses Dye

Part used b Leaves4,5,6,8,9 / all parts above ground10,11,18

How to collect b Pull out plant from ground1,4,6,18 / Pick leaves off plant8

Where it growsc Mountains , , , , / meadows , / near water / border to Turkey and Iran, HacîOmran20 / Hornî Balekîyan5

Use instructions b,f Sometimes picked dry4,6,8, NDP4,5,6,8,9,10,11,18,20; yellow / direct dye5 / leave fewdays4 / first treat with alum and R.coriaria6 . R. luteola is better but use P.granatumif not avilable1

Best collection time Spring4,5 / summer 6,9 / between sp&su8,10,11 / autumn18

Learned fromg Mo5,9,20 / Grmo20/ Parents6

Scientific name Curcuma longa L.

Kurdish name Zerde Çewe3,84,9,14,16,19 / Beharat12,13,14 / Derman Biryanî2,11,14

Uses Food

Part used Powdered root

Where it growsc Bought2,3,4,11

Use instructions

b,f

Add to water when making rice; yellow colored rice

2

/ used in various dishes

4

Scientific name Rumex sp.

Kurdish name Tirşoke

Uses b 1. Medicin2,4,9,10,18 2. Food1,2,4,5,6,8,9,10,11,18,19,203. Dye4,10,11

Part used Leaves , , , , , , , and stem , , , , , ,

How to collect Pic leaves off plant / pull plant from ground , ,

Where it growsc Alongside water streams2,10,11 or mountains1,4 / slopes, near cultivated fields18 / bushy and shady areas4 / meadows in sandy soil18 / Gelî Alî Beg waterfall, Kelek

1 / Hendrên4

Use instructions b,f 1; Apply on soar, cover, leave 1 day; cleans and removes pus2,9,10,18/ Boilflowers, wash genital with water; vaginal infection4 2; Eat fresh1,2,10,18 / boil8 /used with V. vinifera in Dolme

1,2,8,11,20 3; NDP4,10,11; light red / leave fewdays4/boil with alum11

Best collection time Spring until autumn , summer before flowering , / Sp until Su / All year

Priced,e Spring; 250 ID/ bunch4

Learned fromg Mo , / Grmo , , Mil, Au



24

Scientific name Potassium-Alum

Kurdish name Şeb

Uses b 1. Dye1,2,3,4,5,8,10,11,18,19,20 2. Cheese production1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10,183. Water

purification3,5,10 4. Medicin3,10,13,15,16,17,19 5. Cosmetics13 Where it growsc Bought in shops , , , , ,

Use instructions , 1; NDP , , , , , , , / dry same day / boil with R. tinctoria / boil with R.tinctoria and R. coriaria11 / boil with R. coriaria1,2 / first treat yarn with R.tinctoria18 2; Grind, add to container, add water, clean by scraping the insideof goat, kow, lamb or sheeps 4th stomach and cut it into small pieces, dry;Şîlk,add to container, cover, leave for 2-3 days until layer forms on bottom Hewên(natural yeast), add layer to boiled milk, stir; cheese1,3,4, 5,6,8,9,18 / Add

yougurt and salt to Şîlk , leave over night, dry is sun, can be used when needed,add little hot water, grind alum and add to mixture, add water; Hewên, add tohot milk; cheese2 3; Add alum to water, stir, wait; filth will sink to bottom ofcontainer 3,5,10 4; Grind, mix with milk, apply on body; body pain, stiffness,tiredness3 / Grind with Q. infectoria galls,add salt, mix into oil, apply onwound.10/See Q. infectoria15,16,19/Apply on wound; stops blood flow, preventsinfection13 / Skinburns17 5; Apply under arm; as deodorant13

Priced,e (5.000 ID/Kg3), (10.000 ID/Kg4), (1 ID/2 Kg11)

Learned fromg Mo / Grmo , / Mil, Au

aQuote numbers refer to individual informants and correspond with Table 3, and allow for qualitativeassessment of variation in informant knowledge. Statements mentioned by all 20 informants are marked ALL. b Numbers match across rows. cFollowed by plant locations in Kurdish (for location on map, see Figure 3).dReported prices in Iraqi dinar (ID) or Kurdish Dirham (DIR). ePrices vary significantly due to fluctuations in

prices and currency. f Normal dyeing procedure (NDP): for mordanting: dry, boil, let it cool, add yarn, leaveover night, dry yarn in sun, then use synthetic dye for dyeing. gAbbreviations used in column: Mo for Mother,Grmo for Grandmother, Mil for Mother in law and Au for Aunt.



Appendix B

Table 5. Compiled data on plant localities from all informants a in depth interviews

Scientificname

Status(Wild/Cultivated)

Dominantvegetation

Near growing plants Distribution Soil type Amount of sun orshade

Sustainable use

Quercus

aegilops L. Wild , , , , , Oak trees Mazî , , / Kirosk , , /

Dare ben8 / Gêwij

2,6,10 / Belaluk

2,8 / Cuz 3

Common , , , Rocky / softsoil6

Sun all day , , Law against cutting itdown2,4,6,8,10 / people were punished or killed4 / fined10/arrested, cut only if dead8

Punica

granatum L. Both V. vinifera Common in

some places5 Dry Cultivated by taking cuttings

Rhus

coriaria L. Both , Trees and

bushes2 Sêw, Beru, Trê Scarce Dry rocky

mountain soil2,4 Alot of sun , /shade4

Cultivation

Vitis

vinifera L. Both Henar , Tû

Juglans

regia L.Both Walnut

trees1 Trê / Henar , Tû

/ bigcanopy prevents plantgrowth under it5

Common Wet grounds /soft and wet1 /All soils5

Alot of sun, moresun gives betterthe yield1

Cultivated near water streams, pruning of branches when itgrows older 1

Rubia

tinctorum L. Wild , , Grasses and

weeds8 In vineyards / Kirosk ,Gêwij5

Red soft mud /dry soil5

Sun

Quercusinfectoria

Oliv.

Wild , , , , , , Oak trees Beru, , , / Gêwij

, , / Belaluk 2,4 / Kirosk 6 /Sore dar , Dare ben4,8/ Bawî , Çeqele, Hencîr 4

Common , , Dry soil , /rocky soil2,4 /soft red mud4 /soft soil6

Sun all day , , /Grows in both10/more sun; better 4

Law against cutting itdown2,4,6,8,10 / people were punished or killed4 / fined10/arrested, cut only if dead8

Reseda

luteola L. Wild , All kind of weeds /

Grasses; Cunî , Şîn,Têrû6

Common Wet / rockymountan soil6,10

Grows in both /Sun10

Rumex sp. Wild , , , , Grasses,weeds1,11,18

and bushes4 / in wheatfields18 /Tolke

2,11,18

Tolke, Pung , , / Kuzele

2 / Streka4

Common , , , Wet soil / wet& dry2

Both in sun andshade, better ifmore sun1,4/ Alotof sun2

Plenty growing wild , ,

aQuote numbers refer to individual informants and correspond with Table 3, and allow for qualitative assessment of variation in informant knowledge. Followed by plant names in Kurdish,for scientific names see Table 6 (Appendix C).



Appendix C

Table 6. Scientific names and for plants mentioned in Kurdish in Table 5 (Appendix B)

Bawî Prunus amygdalus Batsch (= Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D. A. Webb)Belaluk Prunus microcarpa C. A. Mey. (var. pubescens Bornm.)Çeqele Prunus arabica (Olivier) MeikleDare Ben Pistachia atlantica Desf. var. kurdica Gêwij Crataegus azarolus L.Hencîr Ficus carica L. subsp. rupestris (Hausskn. ex Boiss.) BrowiczCunî Astragalus sp.Kirosk Pyrus syriaca Boiss.Kuzele Nasturtium officinale W. T. AitonPung Mentha longifolia (L.) Huds

Sêw Pyrus malus L. (= Malus domestica Borkh.)Şîn Tragopogon coelesyriacus Boiss.Sore dar Quercus libani Olivier.Têrû Vitex pseudonegundo (Hausskn.) Hand.-Mazz.Tolke Malva neglecta Wallr.Tû Morus alba L.Streka Prosopis farcta (Banks & Sol.) J. F. Macbr.

natural dyeing plants in kurdistan, iraq

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